Off Limits
by freakwithacamera
Summary: Bell's Murphy's parole officer who's a little too close to him and Murphy keeps getting into trouble. After calling Bell to get him out of jail one night Bell finds out there's a reason for it. Bell wants to help him and keep him from ruining his life, so he offers him a solution, forcing him to stomp down his affection for Murphy, because Bell can't take advantage of him like that


p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy smiled politely at the officer at the desk as he signed the papers put in front of him. He really couldn't believe he was here, for the second time this week, at two in the morning. He understood once in a while, that was a given, but this was happening far too often. But, then again, wasn't this the entire reason Murphy had his number to begin with? So he could call him when he needed him? Granted, Bellamy hadn't expected it to be in the middle of the night, but regardless, he was here. He sighed and followed the officer to the holding cell, waiting silently as she unlocked the door and called to the boy sitting against the wall./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy looked terrible, like he hadn't slept since Bellamy had last seen him because he'd decided a better use of his time was to join some underground fighting ring or something equally as violent. Bellamy wondered for a second if maybe that was why he was in here, because he'd gotten into a fight, but he knew that wasn't the case. Murphy had said he was in here for spray painting the side of a cop car, because that was exactly what teenagers should be doing on a Thursday night. Why not?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy gave him a nervous smile when the door of the police station closed behind them and Bellamy shook his head at him, motioning for him to get in the car. Murphy's smile faded as he did so, shrinking in on himself asking if Bellamy was angry with him./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy wasn't angry, not even close. Tired, yes, it was two in the morning, and definitely concerned for the boy, but not angry. "No." Was all he said as they drove down the streets towards Murphy's house. Well, group home, full of seven other boys his age that the system had dumped there. It was no surprise he was the one Murphy had called, Bellamy suspected he was the only one who would have answered./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As his parole officer, Bellamy really shouldn't be as close to Murphy as he was, but it wasn't like Murphy had all that many positive influences in his life, so Bellamy didn't mind. Even if it did mean having to get him out of jail in the middle of the night several times a month. He'd never admit to caring for him as much as he did, though, it would probably shatter the fragile relationship they had and cause him to lose his job in the process./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The car was silent save for the soft hum of the engine as they drove, Bellamy glancing over at Murphy, worried but he didn't dare ask. Murphy would only snark at him, he doubted he would get a straight answer from him. Instead he looked back at the road, telling Murphy, "They're going to make you do another thirty hours of community service."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Okay."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You're lucky they didn't stick you back in Juvie."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I know."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You can't keep doing this shit, Murphy, you're just going to end up back there, or worse. You're going to be eighteen soon, what then? I can't get you out if you're in prison." Bellamy scolded him, "The consequences are going to be real soon, and you can't just keep acting like none of it matters."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I know. Sorry." Murphy muttered, staring out the window at the streetlights passing by./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You think the judge is going to just accept 'sorry' the next time you fuck up? You're going to get in serious trouble if you keep this shit up! You can't keep doing it just because you feel like breaking things. Life doesn't work like that! You've got to get a hold of yourself or-"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Are you trying to be my dad now or something?"Murphy snapped, glaring at him. "Because it's really fucking annoying."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy gripped the steering wheel tightly, taking a deep breath and shaking his head, "No. No, I'm not, Murphy, that's not my intention at all. I'm just worried about you. You're going to get in serious trouble one day and I won't be able to get you out of it." He wanted to protect Murphy, to keep him out of trouble so he might actually have a chance of getting out of the system and building a real life for himself. He deserved that, but it wasn't going to happen if Murphy kept getting in trouble with the law./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Pull over," Murphy sighed and looked at his lap, twisting his fingers as he tried to process the information. Not many people had ever tried to protect him, not since his dad died, and the idea that Bellamy was trying to, it just didn't make sense to him. What had he done to make Bellamy want to care about him?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy did as he was told, pulling the car into the parking lot of an empty gas station, turning the key off and turning in his seat to face Murphy, waiting for him to speak./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy let the silence drag on for a moment, not sure he wanted to ask the question weighing on his mind. What if he didn't like the answer? What if there was no answer? Bellamy was his parole officer. It was his job to care, but not this much. None of his housemates had parole officers that cared this much about them. Murphy licked his lips, finally asking, "Why? Why do you care so damn much?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy bit his tongue, holding back a span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"'Because I really want you, okay? But I can't have that and this is the closest I'm ever going to get, so just let me try to help you, you fucking dumbass, before you ruin your life.' /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He couldn't say that. He's six years Murphy's senior and, sure, Murphy's seventeen and if he were basing it on technicality, then maybe, but he's not. It's morals, because somehow he's still got them and they're currently telling him that he's going straight to hell for even thinking about it./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy was a kid, as far as he was concerned, and he was a kid in his care, he was supposed to be helping him do right and get on the right path. He wasn't supposed to fall for him, wasn't supposed to want him, but he had and he did and he was going to shove it down and ignore it because by the time Murphy was eighteen it wouldn't matter because dammit, Bellamy was going to make damn sure he had his life together and didn't need him around by then. That was the extent of their relationship, it was never going to be anything more, because it wasn't right and it wasn't fair to Murphy. Enough people had hurt him, and Bellamy refused to be one of them, whether he meant to or not./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"So, /spaninstead, he shrugged and told him, "You obviously need someone to look out for you and it's kind of my job to do that. Besides, it's not like I mind all that much. Just wish you'd stop getting into so much fucking trouble."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy nodded, accepting the answer. It wasn't what he had wanted, he wasn't exactly sure what he span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"had/span wanted. Maybe something a little more personal, but Bellamy never did personal with him, so he wasn't really surprised. Still, it felt nice to know Bellamy was looking out for him, even if it made him feel a little guilty for getting into so much trouble./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Okay, my turn." Bellamy said, figuring if Murphy could ask questions he could, too, "Why do you keep getting into trouble all the time?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The question caught Murphy off guard -usually Bellamy just accepted it and went on- and his usual snark failed him, leaving him with nothing but the truth, as much as he hated to admit it. To admit that anything was wrong, that he wasn't completely fine like he often said, would be to allow himself to be vulnerable, and he couldn't stand to be vulnerable, but still, he answered, "Sometimes I don't want to go back to Abby's. The station is quieter, calmer, and I feel more at home there, anyway."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You get in trouble because you don't want to go home?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I don't have a home, Bellamy."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Right." Bellamy sighed, "So, if you planned to stay there all night, why'd you call me? Not that I'm not okay with coming to get you! I'm just curious, that's all."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy bit his lip and looked away from Bellamy, "They brought in some other guys and they were drunk and loud and I got- I don't like drunk people, okay?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You got scared." That was what had happened, that was why he'd called. It made Bellamy wonder how many times he'd been in that cell overnight that he didn't know about. Kane was doing his best to help, and that meant that a lot of Murphy's arrests weren't in his file, so for all Bellamy knew he could have spent every night in there. Well, maybe not every night. He would have gotten a call about it if that were the case./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Yes."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""They reminded you of your mom."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Can we not go there tonight? You're my parole officer, not my therapist." Murphy huffed, wishing he hadn't said anything at all. He hated talking about his mother and the drinking and everything that had happened to him. He never really learned how to talk about it without it sounding like he was begging for attention and it made his skin crawl, made him want to run, because that was the last thing he wanted. He toyed with the door handle, considering just leaving, but Bellamy would probably go after him and that would only cause more problems, so he didn't. He kept his hand on it, though, because it made him feel safer, a reminder that he had an escape route should he need it./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Sorry. I didn't mean to pry." The silence crept in again, leaving the two to sit there awkwardly, neither sure what else to say. Murphy still didn't want to go home, but that was where Bellamy was taking him, and Bellamy was considering making an offer he knew he really shouldn't. It would only end badly, he was sure, but he couldn't stand the idea of Murphy getting in more trouble just because he didn't want to be around the rest of the kids at Abby's place. Not that Bellamy blamed him. They weren't exactly a friendly group./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Finally, giving up on trying to find a way to phrase it without sounding creepy, Bellamy offered, "You can stay at my place if you want, the next time you want to get away from them and all." He looked at Murphy, gauging his reaction, almost wincing at the skeptical look he was given. "I don't mean it like that. I mean, you know, instead of getting yourself locked up again and making trouble, you could stay there. I've got a guest room and it's yours if you want it."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy still didn't understand why Bellamy was offering, no one helped anyone without expecting something in return, but Bellamy sounded sincere and Murphy couldn't stop the tiny smile that grew on his face, "You wouldn't mind?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy shook his head and fished around in the console's compartment, pulling out a spare key and holding it out to Murphy. "So you don't have to wake me up at two in the morning, yeah?" He probably shouldn't trust Murphy that much, the kid was a criminal, but it was his job to help him straighten his life out, he had to trust him a little bit./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy took the key from him gingerly, like he was afraid he was going to break it, "You're not afraid I'm going to murder you in your sleep or something?" He joked, trying to rid the air of the sentimentality that had fallen around them./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Maybe a little, but I'll get over it." Bellamy chuckled, "Besides, as long as you feed the cat after I'm gone, I don't think anyone will miss me too much."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy looked at the key, turning it over in his fingers, playing with it, a nervous habit, "You trust me this much?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Is there a reason I shouldn't?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""No!" Murphy shook his head, "No, no. Just, thank you." He clutched the key in his hand and gave Bellamy a smile that made his stomach flip, a reaction that he was just going to pass off as a combination of bad takeout and no sleep./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy wondered if anyone had ever actually trusted Murphy, and the answer that came to mind broke his heart. Murphy was a good kid, a little rough around the edges, but he was good, Bellamy truly believed it, but he needed to be given a chance to prove that, and Bellamy didn't think anyone had ever done that for him. "No problem. Whenever you want, you're welcome."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy hesitated for a second, wondering if he was supposed to at least wait a while before taking Bellamy up on his offer, but the idea of going home and having to explain to Abby why he was in so late didn't appeal to him in the slightest. "Can I- Would it be alright if I sleep over tonight? I'd rather not face Abby's judgment right now." It wasn't that he wasn't grateful to her, he could have been stuck in worse places, he knew that, but she had this stare that she gave him that screamed disappointment and he knew there would be a lecture to follow. At least this way he could tell her he was staying with a friend and he'd forgotten to call. He'd still get a lecture, but it wouldn't be nearly as bad./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Of course." Bellamy nodded and started the car again, pulling out of the parking lot and turning around to go back the way they'd came, heading to his own house. The drive was short and quiet, Bellamy focusing on the road, watching for traffic even though there wasn't much out this late at night, and trying to convince himself that he was only doing his job. Helping Murphy. That was it. He had no other reason for it. He and Murphy weren't friends, he was his parole officer, and Murphy was a messed up kid who needed a little guidance and there was no way Bellamy would do anything that might screw that up. He knew where he stood on the issue. That was what mattered. He wasn't going to be that guy, it wasn't fair to Murphy./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy stood quietly to the side after they'd entered Bellamy's house, taking in his new surroundings. It was fairly nice, everything matched and it almost looked like one of those houses you see inside of magazines, and Murphy surprised by it. He'd expected something a little more lived in, maybe some junk strewn about, but the house didn't feel lived in at all. It was the complete opposite of Bellamy, but Murphy wasn't going to say anything about it, he was grateful Bellamy had let him stay over, he wasn't about to say anything that might insult him to the point of making him change his mind./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bellamy eyed him curiously, having never seen Murphy be even slightly awkward about anything, "You can do what you want, you know. Make yourself at home. I can show you the guest room now if you want?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Please." Murphy nodded, glad to do something other than stand there waiting. He followed Bellamy down the hall and into a room, decorated like the front of the house, nicely but with an air of not actually being lived in./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Okay, so this is your room. I'm at the end of the hall if you need me. The next door over is the bathroom and the one on the opposite side is a linen closet, there's extra blankets and stuff inside if you need them."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Thank you." Murphy said, his voice quiet as he looked around the room, smiling to himself. It was a strange feeling, having someone actually care about him and he wasn't sure if it was real or if this was just some kind of game Bellamy was playing with him, but either way he was content not to question it at the moment. "Would you mind if I showered? I smell like jail."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Yeah, sure. Bathroom's next door, there's towels and stuff in there and I think there's an extra toothbrush in one of the drawers." He told him, showing him to the bathroom and flicking on the light. "There you go."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Thanks."Murphy smiled at him and closed the door behind him, Bellamy retreating to his own room to get changed for bed. After he was done he took out a pair of pajamas that were too small for him but would hopefully fit Murphy and took them to Murphy's room, setting them on the bed and going to the kitchen to get himself a drink before attempting to go back to sleep./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He took down a glass and filled it with water, sipping it slowly and trying to convince himself that this wasn't a bad decision. Murphy needed somewhere to stay when he couldn't stay at Abby's and that's what Bellamy was giving him. Just because he had a small crush on him didn't mean anything. He was twenty-three, he was too damn old to be thinking like that and he wasn't going to dwell on it because it would only make it worse. As far as he was concerned, it was best left ignored. Murphy getting his life together was his main priority, it was why he'd decided on this career in the first place, so he could help people out. That was all this was and all it was ever going to be./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"With that thought in mind he set his glass in the sink and headed back to his room, nearly colliding with Murphy in the process, who began apologizing, holding his towel around his hips with one hand and shoving his wet hair back from his face with the other, looking considerably better than he did when Bellamy had seen him in the station. "Sorry, sorry. You okay?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's okay, no big deal." Bellamy shrugged it off, frowning at the yellowing bruises along the side of Murphy's face, focusing on them and refusing to let his eyes wander. He really wished he'd stop getting into fights, "I left some pajamas on your bed, since we didn't really stop to get any of yours. They should fit, but they might be a little big. If they don't work we can figure something else out."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Murphy nodded and gave him a sincere smile, "Thanks. For all of this. Getting me out of jail, letting me stay, for just helping me in general. Thank you, Bell."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"It's really no problem. If you need something you know where to find me." Bellamy smiled back at him, "Goodnight."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Murphy bit his lip, like he was considering saying something but shook his head at the last second, muttering, "Night, Bellamy," and walking away. Bellamy was nice enough to let him stay here, he wasn't going to jeopardize that by acting like some love struck schoolboy. Besides, he still didn't know if he actually liked Bellamy or just liked that he cared about him. Until he figured that out he was going to keep it to himself, even if that was going to be a lot harder now that he was only a few rooms away from Bellamy. He wasn't an idiot and Bellamy wasn't as subtle as he thought, but there was a reason he hadn't done anything, and Murphy was willing to respect that. Bellamy was one of those morally righteous people, it was one of the reasons Murphy liked him so much, but it also meant that to him, Murphy was a child and nothing was every going to happen. It both frustrated and comforted Murphy, knowing that Bellamy wasn't going to do anything to hurt him, even if he asked him to./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Bellamy watched as Murphy walked back to his room, closing the door behind him. He swallowed hard and rubbed a hand across his face, reminding himself that Murphy was off limits. He was seventeen. Eighteen in three months, according to his file, but that was irrelevant. He was off limits for so many different reasons and nothing was ever going to come from it. Ever. Murphy trusted him and there was no way he was going to violate that trust. Murphy was off limits and Bellamy wondered just what circle of hell he was going to end up in for having to remind himself of that./span/p 


End file.
